Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Europe lifted their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.01.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $65.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $525.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394 over the last three months. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 122.7% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 45,611 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,295,000 after purchasing an additional 25,127 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 128.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 17.7% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,141 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 9.5% in the third quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,171 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,787,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.